


By The Grace of Thor's Hammer

by uragani



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Avengers Movie Night, Battle, Bruce Banner is a Good Doctor, Changing Tenses, Complete, Domestic Avengers, Dreamy Feeling, Experimental Style, Experimental tenses, Fight Scene, Gen, Happy Ending, Loki Feels, Loki Redemption, Loki-centric, Mijolnir Feels, No Dialogue, Odin's A+ Parenting, One Shot, POV Third Person Omniscient, Present Tense, Protective Hawkeye, Steve on his Motorcycle, Thor is Dead, Violence, slightly angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-20
Updated: 2014-01-20
Packaged: 2018-01-09 10:09:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1144714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uragani/pseuds/uragani
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thor is Dead. Mijolnir has fallen. || Loki's been hiding out on Midgard, and Tony's had just about enough of that when he spots how exhausted Loki looks. Between the 6 remaining Avengers, they pretty much don't want to let Loki die when Thor's already... dead. So things happen, more things happen, Loki gets into a spot of trouble, and then things happen a little differently than they expect. Also to whoever is unleashing false versions of Jormungandr this is your notice to please cease and desist.</p>
            </blockquote>





	By The Grace of Thor's Hammer

Thor was dead.

Mijolnir had fallen.

It had taken pleading with Steve Rogers to get Mijolnir to where he was staying, but Loki could stoop that low. The man was pure of heart, he'd lifted it once already. The Captain seemed to swear it was going to end badly, but all Loki seemed to want was the hammer where he was staying. He was willing to break laws, ones of his own people, to hide something from Odin, to stay on Midgard with this hammer. Steve didn't particularly feel like he was doing anything bad either when he saw the red-rimmed state of Loki's eyes and the desperation in his body language.

Sometimes the good guys had to give an inch. Especially when someone seemed that close to shutting down for good.

Loki didn't bother them for months. Steve had this niggling feeling that something was wrong, but he never really tested his theory out. Then cameras from Stark Industry spotted Loki on the streets. Everyone was prepared for the worst, the Avengers were told to keep on alert just in case they were called in. Tony squinted into tiny screens, and enlarged them to fit the entire big screen TV in the common area. The five of them watched as they prepared for battle, strapping on gloves and getting their weapons settled.

But it was a false alarm. He didn't look well, Natasha commented looking for weaknesses. Clint grunted his agreement, then when he put down his arrows and sidled back to the kitchen Steve knew they weren't going out that day. Clint never gave Loki an inch of trust, and he was a good man for spotting details others seemed to miss. Tony seemed like he'd was itching to get something done, swapping camera angles, following him. When Banner nudged him, that's when he stopped. Loki had simply bought some apples, cheese, bread, with real money no less. Groceries for the bad guy... I guess they all needed to eat.

He didn't even cover his tracks, why should he? Steve knew where he was, and when he admitted that little fact Tony slugged him in the ear for not telling him. They'd gotten in a scuffle until Banner growled from the corner. He was getting good at imitating the Other Guy to make a point. They really didn't want to test to see if that little smile he got when they broke apart was because he knew they were horsing around, because the Other Guy wanted to play, or because he liked having a hint of wordless power over them.

Steve finally admitted that Loki didn't seem healthy, and that was more than enough for Tony. His suit was in a case and he was calling in a ride before anyone else could figure he'd decided on anything. He waved goodbye, expecting to get away scot-free in one of his cars as the mechanics smoothly whirled it to street level. Banner carefully trotted to meet him, like a faithful friend would, Steve was at his other side. Tony sighed and took a bigger car, more space.

They drove to the building Loki'd gone into and it was nearly desolate. An old broken down and abandoned warehouse, converted into a habitable space. Tony's sneer about interior decorating made Steve roll his eyes. Hadn't that been his excuse to get everyone else moved into the Avenger's Tower with him? 'You need a better rat hole than this.' He was pretty sure Tony just liked having people around him to protect, and the way Loki looked on camera, thin, lithe, underfed... Well maybe Tony would make a good dad with his fatherly instincts going off at the slightest sign.

Banner wondered out loud if they were going to knock, and Tony blustered forward to do just that. It seemed only Steve had any preservation instinct, who knew how Loki would react to intruders. But it was too late, and his fears were worthless when the man simply opened the door wearily, too wearily for surprise. Tony shoved a very large and meaty wrapped sandwich in his hands, and pushed past him into his home, whistling and pointing out the nice things about it. Banner tried not to laugh. Steve turned red in embarrassment and apologized. Loki held the sandwich close, and decided to just accept it all with the grace that fit the once crown prince.

It didn't take much for Tony to cajole the god back to Avenger's Tower, especially not when Steve carefully offered to carry anything he needed back with them. His eyes flashed bright for a second knowing what he meant, but he nodded. Even if he wasn't doing well, he was trying to keep himself neat. He combed his hair with his fingers, nervously tugging at the nape of his neck as they piled everything he owned into the car, Tony ended up boasting the whole time about how a bigger car was clearly all his idea and that's why he was the best. Loki asked if he were under arrest, and the inventor's ego punctured as swiftly as his face fell.

It took a while to reassure Loki, and afterwards none of them were quite sure how they got maneuvered into a position where they would be comforting the man who nearly destroyed New York. Tony blasted AC/DC from the front. Banner tried to sing along, and Loki smiled for the first time in a while. Steve held Mijolnir in his lap, thoughtfully tracing the designs on the metal. The ride was otherwise silent.

Getting Loki moved in was relatively simple. Tony had enough guest rooms to have the entire Asgardian royal family move in at a moment's notice, so it didn't actually take more than a choice of numbers. He put him in Thor's suite anyways. Loki took one look around at the untouched surfaces, his brother's colors, and Banner had to leave. Moment of crisis he said, more like he was angry at their loss, and seeing Loki taking it so hard that he wasn't even a proper villain anymore was the feather that almost woke the Hulk. Steve put Mijolnir next to the bed.

It didn't take long for them to assimilate him into the morning routine. Turned out he liked the same foods as Banner, fresh fruits, toast, light healthy things. He was more than willing to also feast on the sausages that Tony claimed his heart could resist no matter how much oil you put on them, and at Steve's encouragement tried french fries and burgers near dinner. After that, there was a 6-way fight over which fast food joint to hit when no one wanted to cook.

Hawkeye and Natasha were surprisingly okay with Loki moving in. Natasha seemed to regard him as a way to keep on her toes and casually stalked him, only to get into physical sparring. He was looking less lanky the more she galled him into action, and everyone was happy to know his health was no longer on the decline. Clint however... well, he was surviving. After the first few warning arrows Loki stayed away from his floor, and his food. After a few more weeks they managed to share a room without Clint needing to sharpen something as a dominance gesture. It took a month of Tuesdays before they managed to get into Tony's stash on some ill advised plot, and ended up drunk as skunks together on the couch, singing off-key. After that Barton shot at other people for shooting at Loki first.

Tony was the one who brought it up, when Loki wasn't around to hear. He'd checked some security footage, nothing big, by the way you all have shower cams, looking good Natasha, and he'd seen something. It wasn't to tease him, it was out of 'security for the whole family' and when did Loki become family anyways? Tony had caught footage of Loki trying to lift Mijolnir. Steve chuckled that anyone would try once or twice, and Tony responded with a barrage of videos. Time-stamped, and visible. Loki would try maybe three times a day, every time he passed it. There was one distressing video sped up to show that Loki had in the middle of the night gotten up and tried to pick it up for hours on end, ending up curled up with it, passed out on the handle, with tears streaking his face. Steve agreed this was getting out of hand.

It was Banner who coaxed Loki out on the trip with them. Soft words, a hand at his lower back, and tons of promises made with the sardonic tone and manner of someone who wasn't going to promise nothing would happen because everyone was going to be there. There may have been a quip about an Avenger's road trip not ending in trouble being a long lost hope of the people. However he did it, Loki ended up curled in the back of the car that Tony and Banner shared in the caravan that sped down the practically glossy new streets of the city and into the surrounding roads. Steve drove beside them on his shiny motorcycle, ahead of Hawkeye and Natasha's jeep, requisitioned for a scouting mission when it all came down to the books. Loki admired the motorcycle when the moonlight fell and Steve let go a little, letting himself become one with the machine. He could tell the man was completely in his own mind as they ate up road for miles. Moon at his back, silhouetting them as he slid effortlessly over the ground, over bridges with barriers clicking past aimlessly. Everything is quiet, everything is calm, everything is glorious movement.

So when Loki ends up being the one to see the vast form in the distance first, he swears loud enough to make Tony swerve slightly. Tony manages to eke out a comment on how he thought he was asleep back there, something about nicknaming him sunshine too, and then it hits. The car is rammed off the road, luckily just past the end of the bridge it swept down on them from. The wreckage is glorious, hop skipping over the ground tearing loose wild bolts of metal and screaming. The only reason they survive, the top had been down after all leaving them exposed, was Loki's magic. It snapped around all three of them, shielding them from the worst of the damage. Tony and Banner both cuss as one, and Banner turns, shoving his way out of the car with a snarl. Loki's shields drop just as he falls to his knees, growling and trying his best not to go green. It's a worthless attempt, but when he does shift his fists grip onto the horns of the beast in front of them. The dirt piles under his feet as he is pushed back. Loki and Tony scurry away when he crushes the car. That's when they can all say they finally get a good look at it.

The word dragon flashes over the minds and mouths of the collective, except for Loki who screams out the word Jormungandr. Tony's eyes turn on him, wide and searching, he recognizes the name in the middle of trying to haul the suitcase with his suit in it out from under the impacted steering column. Loki is looking up at his son with dread as Hulk twists him one way or another. His son. Loki's hands go up, and it's the first time they've seen him recklessly using physical magic. The first time he's used it in quite some time and it reminds them that their little pet magician is forever a dangerous battlemage writhing with the ability to end them in a snap of his fingers. But for that moment, ice merely scores the ground as it shreds out of the pavement wrapping around the snake's great neck.

The father runs forward, ignoring the green beast who is backing off in hesitance, Bruce luckily the one closest behind green eyes. His slender fingers press against the too-small snake's scales, the intake of breath obvious. He turns back, unhappiness, and relief at war in his face. This wasn't his son, the colors and size are all wrong, he's just a copy. A copy of the World Serpent who had supposedly died killing Thor. A copy that had taken away his hope at least one of them had survived. The unhappy yowl bursts out of him as ill concealed rage, the ice shatters into dust. They think it's him, they believe for a moment that he'd turned against them even though he had moments ago stopped the fight, but their doubts are shattered when he too looks back at the frost falling around him; shock writ large on his face.

Steve is there in seconds, his shield knocking away the snout of the beast as it dives for Loki. Without land to scrabble on the beast's momentum is easily shifted so he is once more left to attack the Hulk simply for falling within his line of sight. The Hulk grabs it around the neck; Tony finally gets his suit out. Like a game of Tetris, it unravels to fit over his arms and he's less scared every time it comes to that the moment it clicks into place. He's no longer a human on the field then, but a metal monster concealing a brilliant mind. Hawkeye stands on the edge of the bridge, bow taut, waiting for that perfect shot. He could nail it through one of the beady eyes and put an explosive in its brain, he could do that. There is so much more to the situation though, he senses he should wait. He senses it, watching Loki's face seething and breaking all at once. He couldn't kill it, no more than if his bow were lost to him, not in front of Loki anyways. Instead he flicks an explosive arrow across the bow of the beast's snout as a warning, the burst of white-hot fire in front of its eyes causing it to rear back, the fins along the sides of its face spreading in a hiss.

None of this prepares them for Natasha. Nothing could prepare anyone for that bombshell, but for once when the Jeep came sailing over a chunk of broken up pavement with Nat behind the wheel looking like a vengeful Valkyrie it's even worse than usual. She'd seen Hawkeye's little Disney moment, saw the Hulk trying to be gentle enough not to snap its neck. She'd seen Tony in distress, Loki as a target, and she was having none of this. Out of all of them it was she who had the true killer's blood. Which would probably drive the Hulk mad if he realized he was just rage and fury signifying nothing, while she was cold blood. The metal careens into the head of the beast and that turns it aside. She covers her face for the impact, not getting out of the driver's seat but taking the hit herself. Hawkeye yells, but she had this under control the whole time. Once the glass broke, safely she might add, she was right up and personal with bloody open gashes left behind. Her gun is out, she fires directly into the newly made holes. The serpent rears with a scream into the night.

Tony is right behind her as she dodges from the thrashing beast, his repulsors firing, knocking it back in rhythm with the strikes. It mostly bounces off the hide, but Tony is patient, walking the snake backwards with jerks and snarls under the light and pain. Each blast knocks it further back, the bridge's yawning edge right behind it. The Hulk prepares, fists clutching at the pavement like a man jockeying before a race. It is clear to anyone he aims to ram it the final burst if it decides that Tony's little maneuver had outlived its usefulness, easily spotted from the hunched figure, the muscles coiled as springs. The snake's tail reaches around, snapping wildly. Hawkeye's form almost doesn't get the hell out of there before impact tears part of the bridge to the sky.

Denial rips from Loki, and he throws himself between this so called Jorgmungandr and Tony, opening his arms wide to protect them both from each other. Tony's repulsor hits him in the middle of the back, his shields crackling green at the intrusion. Stark looks bewildered, and apologetic, even as Loki grabs onto the face of the beast rocketing toward them. The snake turns his head to clamp around his middle like to devour him. Loki demands they stop, that everything stop. He hisses all sorts of words, begs his son to listen. Even if he is not quite his son, not quite what he expected. The razor teeth clamp tighter around his middle, he does little more than wince. Even Steve is ready to take the monster down for him, but Loki fixes him with a glare filled with so much old loss the red, white, and blue hero backs down. Blood courses down the front of his green and black jacket, wet hot and bubbling. It seeps at the corner of his mouth as he leans his forehead against Jormungander's twin. He begs so plaintively, the snake seems to take notice. If not to the content then the tone that begged for the sake of love.

It takes time, but Loki finally coaxes the creature down with soothing words. Blood is puddled under his feet, under the head of the beast in dangerous amounts. Loki looks ill, he looks horrible and sick. He looks fit to die. The jaws open letting the god free, it coos low in its throat. Loki runs a hand over it, eyes wet from unshed tears. He couldn't have either side die, he would give himself to see the battle ended with no casualties. He would martyr for them, and how stupid was that? How stupid was it that he who had nearly taken over the world while monsters screamed in his head would now lay his life on the line not only for one that seemed to be of his blood, but for humans he had once sought to rule. It's so funny how fate is formed, how it coalesces and makes no amount of sense at particular points in a timeline. Had you told him this would happen then, he would have laughed.

Then it happens to seem that all the tricks in the world did not belong to Loki, as so many thought. The snake waits for him to drop, waits for the whine of repulsors winding down, before he turns on Banner once more just as the man overcame the beast leaving a scientist behind for this battle. Loki's knees hit the ground as the snake flew over him, aiming to take out the wretch that stopped his rampage in the first place now that it had become weak. He turns, they see it, then Loki was there, between them. Teleportation, Tony makes a mental note to find out more about that, but Loki is busy throwing Banner out of the way, taking the attack himself. It breaks over his spine, more blood, more pain. His hand comes up before anyone can react and darkness spins out of control into an opening. A portal was raised, hungry and yawning, swallowing the serpent clone, and snapping closed. Sent somewhere new, somewhere it could live without harming others. Loki shudders under the use of magic in his torn apart state, his eyes close.

Steve's there, isn't he always? He grips the God tightly under an arm, nods to Tony who rushes over to help raise him. He is so heavy, none of them expected that. The god always seemed light on his feet, so a reminder he was so heavy jolts them. It takes a considerable amount of both their enhanced strength to get him to the Jeep, which Banner had righted using a long chunk of metal and the weight of the other three of them. He didn't need to be a monster to shift things. The jeep, torn similarly to Loki, would function at the very least. Hawkeye leaps off the fulcrum point into the back, as they slide Loki into the cargo area. Nat's behind the wheel again, before Tony can steal shotgun. Banner gets in the back with Hawkeye and together they stand guard over the body of Loki. He's so thin when deflated and at peace, he looks so sick with blood clotting at the seams. It's been so long since he's used such magic, they aren't sure what could have been broken inside him. Banner's quick to help, putting pressure on wounds where he needs to, and stitching his skin. His quicky medical kit was always around, in every vehicle because no matter what he wanted to save lives. He wasn't there simply to wreck the world. How dare anyone think that. Steve takes up the rear guard, his miraculously untouched bike under him thrumming and strong like him.

Hawkeye cradles Loki's head, and everyone is wise enough not to comment on that. The ride home is full of yells and worry, complaints and denial. Tony is pissed to hell and back over the loss of one of his cars although he blames no one but the monster. He claims he can right it, if they can send someone to drag it home. Fury is called, S.H.I.E.L.D. once again sent to clean up the mess. At least the monster had been defeated handily this time. There's no need to call medics, the wounds had begun visibly closing on Loki's body Banner was pleased to announce. Hawkeye's jaw is so tight his muscles are visible along his neck, and Banner almost prescribes him something to sedate him but there's danger in those eyes. He knew Loki better than any of them after all, without his permission of course, but the lingering desire to save him was making his stomach flip-flop in worry. Especially when he had seen him do good, so much good, on the field today. Good to something he would have killed outright. Especially bad was knowing that it had looked like the monster who had taken Loki's brother to the grave.

Loki's breathing is shallow all the way home. Banner holds his pulse between two gentle fingers monitoring it silently. No one smiles, the world narrows down to life or death. His body is willing, it stopped the bleeding, the visible gashes left behind are trying to knit themselves. It seems however his magic or his life force, whatever held him together like twine and bits of gum, was running low. The healing had all but stopped before it could complete itself, leaving him bloody, leaving him damaged. Tony calls ahead to J.A.R.V.I.S. and lets him know to have medical supplies ready. They weren't going to lose him. No one knew when he'd gotten this important to them. When some villain who they had nearly killed became someone they needed alive just so they didn't look back on this day and hurt.

Natasha's sharp tongue over the comm line means Fury keeps himself out of touch and out of sight when they move together to shift their teammate into Avenger's Tower. No one is there to stop them, even though Fury is insanely angry no one told him they had found the second Asgardian, let alone that he had been living with them. With D.U.M.M.Y. helping with the weight, it's easier to move him into a bed. It doesn't take long before they find the room full of mini-bots carrying hot steaming towels smelling of antiseptic, bandages, and elbow grease. An emergency protocol Tony doesn't remember planning for, and J.A.R.V.I.S. being cagey means he'll work on learning about it later. Loki is left in the capable hands of Bruce, who shoos them all out with a bedside manner most gentle. He needs to focus, and bandage things he is pretty sure they aren't allowed to look at unless they were doctors too. He also quietly informs Tony that his degrees are not in the medical field, and he is as banned as the rest of them.

They group together in the main room, the four of the heroes left without anything to do. They sit awkwardly, silent for a short time before Steve speaks up first. He tries to crack a joke about how he figured gods were supposed to handle things like this better. It just leaves Tony scoffing, and a debate raises about whether gods were really gods or just higher levels of science. It soothes them, to have the old believer versus atheist fight. Nat sits above them all, taking Hawkeye's usual perch so she can look down on them. She looks like some sort of princess, like a queen. She knows either he'll survive, or he won't. It's the way of things, and she can't help them along unless they want him dead. It leaves Hawkeye in such a state though. He's all torn up, they can see it. He's wished Loki dead more than once aloud, and now he's pacing near the doorway. He wants to help, badly. It conflicts with the self taught stance on others he's always thought he held rigid in his mind. He tries to let go, so much, but he ends up pacing near the door again. His heart is not as cold as he wishes it would be.

Loki's grip on his wrist startles Bruce, it's weak, but his eyes are slightly open. His lips try to form words, and Bruce takes a second before he ducks down to listen. He grimaces, Loki's words are there to comfort him, tell him he merely needs rest and he'll be fine. Banner wishes he could take it easy, and when he says so Loki laughs this faint little whisper. He asks for water, and Banner stands to fetch it without question. His patient adds on a request for fruit, he can't help but roll his eyes. Pear he supposes, and the little noise of contentment from the bed proves him correct when he asks.

Banner slips out to fetch the items, and nods to everyone when he leaves the room. They relax instantly, each one sinking into their spot a little. Clint is the only one still on his feet, carefully lingering near the door. They all want to check on him, he's just proactive. Banner lets the door swing slightly wide so he can get an eyeful of the patient, who smiles at him. There's a wink, and Barton's lip curls. Natasha quickly slips lower as he violently shoulders and struts to regain his spot to make up for his embarrassment. Tony doesn't help, because gee Hawkeye, who'da thunk you were such a good nurse huh? The arrow lodged in the wall beside him by hand and not bow is thankfully not explosive although it does ruin the paint job.

With food in his belly, fueling him on, and water to quench his thirst Loki pushes himself up. Banner is not amused, but is confronted with rolled eyes and a man who has many stories about times that were worse than this one. He allows himself to listen as Loki rattles off old battle wounds, and worse situations. Did you know Loki was once a severed head for three weeks? Did you? And you thought a mere bite would kill him. Admittedly the poison was close to doing its job, which has Bruce's angry eyes on him in a sharp moment. He hadn't noticed the poison. Loki's smile is sheepish, but he can't help but wonder how else does anyone think the snake's twin killed Thor? Thor. His eyes grow dark, he lowers his head, and Banner offers him solace in his arms. Loki takes the moment of comfort from his teammate, surprised he cares. That any of them care. He's spent so long needing to take care of himself since no one else will that comfort as meager as a careful hug has him reeling. They talk for a few hours, until Loki's body has recovered. Banner is against the idea of moving, but Loki hauls up his tunic with the most annoyed grunt the world has ever experienced, and even the doctor has to admit the fact that only silvery scars remain is a testament to the power of Asgardians.

Loki is walked out in style, Banner holds his waist lightly as he wanders out of the room. Tony's, now that anyone has given it a closer look. It'd been the closest, and the one most likely to have medical supplies and no one wonders why that is. Loki's first words are apologies for bleeding on his linen when his spell slipped. Tony shoves hot stew in his hands, and he blinks with wide eyes. Between Stark and Rogers, a fine stew had been cooked. Natasha'd made good rich bread from some ancient Russian secret recipe, and Hawkeye had forgone the whole thing. That was good enough to make him feel callous. Besides, there's mysteriously cut fruit and cheese in the fridge and he knows that's what Loki will end up wanting with his meal. He always wants stupid cheese and fruit. The kindness they show him has him off-put, and lost. He's sucked into the whirlwind of activity, they set him up on a stool while Rogers and Stark battle over how much salt to put in the pot. Nat gets him a spoon because no one else will remember. Hawkeye sits next to him, and starts giving 1-10 ratings for the gibes the blond and the brunet hurl at each other. No one says it directly, but it's all for him. They're glad he's okay, and he's glad he has them. It's such an odd feeling to be accepted. He decides he likes it (and the stew is delicious too.)

Later that day when he is tired, hurting, and not thinking, Loki tries the handle. It's not even anything more than habit now, reassuring himself that everything is real. That he's alive and his brother was real once. So he's more than surprised when she comes effortlessly into his hand, thrumming with delight. His stomach riles, his eyes water as he raises her in front of his eyes unbelieving. It was like, years after Thor had died, he'd finally forgiven his brother for everything. It was more than that, it was as if Odin, as if all of Asgard had finally forgiven the poor fallen prince for the darkest of his days. He shivers, the leather bound handle feeling warm and hungry. The hammer letting him raise her was as good as acceptance. She whispers to him, her voice strong, little moments where she comforts him slightly as if confused why her gift scares him. This thrum of being right, and okay, and whole. She whispers redemption, and sings out expectation. He cannot define how it feels to have her in his mind, to have this weight in his hand.

Loki steps out of his room, tears flowing silently, and just stands in the common room where everyone is sitting. Eyes raise with curiosity, the whole team still in aftercare mode. They've taken over the common room with kiddy movies, and blanket nests to the point that the room might as well be a teenager hangout, all of them content now because he's safe and alive. Loki raises Mijolnir weakly. Steve smiles beaming with pride, and nods to him. Banner smiles too, as Tony raises a fist for a hell yeah. Clint slaps him on the back and goes back to fetching Natasha her coffee. It was like it was normal, they expected it. No one here begrudges him Thor's hammer, even knowing it can only be moved by so few. None of them are shocked, or hurt, or angry. They believe he deserves it too, and that is another blow that sends him rattling along them, clutching it like a doll to his chest while they are more than happy to bring him into their comfort to watch the television with them. He's home, he's never felt so at home, never felt so right, and it's wonderful.

When Odin finally finds Thor in Valhalla and manages to raise him on Midgard where the veil is thinner and his hammer screams for him, Loki is there with the other Avengers to see the furious storm that rises with him. Thor awakens slowly, rising to his feet like any man coming back from the dead would, and Loki stands there, smiling. Odin seems perturbed, but also strangely proud. He's not pushing Loki away, and it takes a few dazed moments for Thor to see why; Loki is holding out his hammer to him. Thor's face lights up, and he pulls his brother close to him first, the hammer a secondary thought while he's bursting with pride. This is his Loki, _his_ Loki, and Mijolnir's Loki too he supposes now, but this brings him nothing but pleasure. To see him rosy cheeked with his own pride, to have him look happier and healthier than he has in years. To see the other Avengers standing nearby looking as if this were natural. All of this makes Thor's return so much better. He clutches his brother close, laughing as rain falls for miles with Mijolnir in hand once more, and his brother by his side. The cheers echo with thunder as the Avengers are made whole again.

Mijolnir rises, and takes Loki with her.

Thor is alive, and Loki is home.


End file.
